Harry Potter Wrath of the Lich King
by peregrin01
Summary: This is not an x-over. I just thought it would be a fitting name.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_AN: This is not a Warcraft x-over.  
Don't take this fic seriously, neither I do. _

**Summer before Harry's sixth year:**

Harry and Ginny landed their brooms, dismounted, and then raced to the Burrow to get a drink. Ron and Hermione were sitting on a swing in front of the house and saw them.

"Harry is finally getting better." Hermione said to Ron.

"Yeah." replied Ron.

It was true. When Harry had returned to Dursleys, he had been a wreck and he had not been much better when he was moved to the Burrow. But with time, he had gotten better. He was now much more content and looked quite healthy. It was thanks to Molly that Harry wouldn't be so gaunt and skinny at the beginning of the next term. However, it was another witch that was the cause of Harry's happiness - the same one that Harry was now spending a most of his time with.

Harry and Ginny went into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemonade and some snacks. As they sat and ate, Harry pondered his current situation. The loss of his godfather had been horrible but his stay with Weasleys had showed him how delightful life could be. He was grateful to Dumbledore for arranging this.

"Fancy a splash in the pond or in the creek in the wood?" asked Ginny.

"Sure." replied Harry.

They changed and set out to the wood.

"Where are you going?" asked Hermione.

"To the creek... Oh, I see. Is it in the range of the wards?" replied Harry.

"Nope. I forgot about that. It's the pond then." said Ginny.

"Shall we join them?" Hermione asked Ron.

"What? Yeah yeah, sure." replied Ron.

A little while later, the four teens were playing in the water. But Ron, instead of enjoying water games with Hermione, watched his sister and Harry. The two of them seemed to be quite comfortable with each other. Ginny wasn't putting her elbows in butter anymore and Harry was spending more time with her than with him and Hermione.

Later that day, when the sun had set, Ron came to the kitchen and asked Hermione, "Have you seen Harry and Ginny?"

"They went outside." she answered.

"At this time? What are they doing there?"

"They just wanted to watch the stars."

"Watch the stars?" asked Ron. "Don't they get enough astronomy from school?"

"Ron, your thickness sometimes surprises even me."

"Oh. You mean that they went to watch the stars just like that? To be together?"

"Bravo. It's amazing that you got it so quickly."

The reason why Ron got it so quickly was Ron's dread of such a possibility and the meanings it hinted. Harry and Ginny weren't just comfortable with each other, it seemed that they actually liked to hang out together. What if they started to have feelings for each other? What if they started dating? Ron knew that Ginny was with Dean now, but she also had a soft spot for Harry. And Harry? He might be nervous around girls but he had also lost his godfather and needed to be comforted. Without considering the possibility of asking Hermione out to watch stars with him as well, Ron retired to his room to think about that.

The next day, when Hermione and Ginny were somewhere having a little girl time, Harry came in the kitchen. Ron was there and Harry asked him, "Have you seen Ginny?"

"Huh?" replied Ron.

"I can't find Ginny. Have you seen her?"

"No. I think she is somewhere with Hermione. Why do you ask?"

"What do you mean by that?" retorted Harry.

"Well, why do you want to find her?" pressed Ron.

"What kind of question is that? I just want to hang out with her."

"Why?"

"Well, that's what friends usually do - they hang out with each other."

"You haven't hung out with Hermione and I much lately." accused Ron.

"Well, I'll see you two a lot at school since we are in the same year. Besides, I thought it would be better to leave you and Hermione alone." replied Harry with a smile.

"Do not change the subject. We are discussing you and my sister."

Harry looked at Ron, then sat down and said,

"Okay, what is this about? Is something bothering you?"

"In fact, yes." answered Ron.

"And that is...?"

"What's with you and my sister?"

"What do you mean?"

"For Merlin's pants!" exclaimed Ron. "Do you have feelings for Ginny?"

Harry was staring at him with an opened mouth. Then he jumped up and exclaimed,

"My goodness! I was so stupid!"

"Yes, yes. But it's OK mate, no harm done." grinned Ron and silently congratulated himself for his witty diffusion of the situation.

"Thanks Ron. Without you, I wouldn't noticed what was under my nose for the entire time!" continued Harry. For a brief moment he wanted to hug Ron but then he changed mind and just patted his shoulder.

"Err..." stuttered Ron. That wasn't the outcome he had wanted to achieve.

"I've got to go!" Harry said, interrupting him, and ran out of the kitchen.

In the meantime, Ginny and Hermione discussed the thickness of their boys. Suddenly, they heard Harry calling, "Ginny!"

"We're here!" she yelled back.

Harry ran to them and said, "Here you are! I was searching for you." and without thinking took her hands in his.

"Well, you found me. What can I do for you?" asked Ginny, who was a bit surprised and delighted by his behaviour.

"Well, actually, nothing at all." replied Harry and felt like an idiot. "I just wondered if you would like to go flying or something. I mean, if you aren't busy..."

"No, I'm not. We've just finished discussing something. Let's go."

As they were leaving, Ginny turned her head back to Hermione and raised an eyebrow. Then she took Harry's hand and they went to the broom shed. Bill, who had just Apparated to the Burrow, saw them. He went to the kitchen and found Ron there.

"What's going on?" asked Bill.

"Oh. I'm such arse." groaned Ron.

"Tell me something I don't know. What have you done?"

"I've just pushed Harry to Ginny."

"You mean like...?"

"Yes, exactly like that."

"Oh dear." said Bill and sat on a chair.

"Yeah."

"But she is dating Dean."

"Come on, you know our sister. She will dump Dean as soon as Harry tells her about his feelings."

"He can't do that! Does he want to put her in danger? Doesn't he realise that he is no position to start a relationship? At least with our sister?"

"Exactly!" agreed Ron. "I've tried to tell him but he misinterpreted it for encouragement."

"Damn it!"

They sat there for a while and then Bill continued, "We've got to do something."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"That we've got to do something. It's too bad that Charlie isn't here; he would be helpful."

"What do you want to do?"

"First, we need to tell the twins about this. Then we need to discuss this and decide what to do."

A day passed and Harry still danced around Ginny. Bill and his brothers waited for their opportunity which came when Ginny went to help her mother and Fleur with something. Ron approached Harry and asked him, "Hey. Do you have a minute? I need to talk with you."

"Sure." said Harry and though he smelled something suspicious, he followed Ron to the broom shed.

"Hi." said Bill, Fred and George as they entered. Harry looked nervously at Ron but he just sat down. Bill conjured another chair for Harry and started, "Harry. We need to talk. Men usually don't tell each other such things but what the hell? We want to tell you, that you mean a lot to our family and we all like you. In fact, you are like one of us."

"Thank you. You are the only family I ever knew. I don't know where I would be without you." said Harry.

"I would also like to emphasize that we don't care about any dangers coming from your closeness to us. Ron gave us a hint that You-Know-Who is determined to kill you and anybody close to you. We don't give a damn."

Harry shoot a look to Ron, he wasn't supposed to talk about the prophecy. Bill continued, "You see how much we love you?"

"I..." started Harry but was interrupted by Bill,

"Then why are you doing this to us?"

"Er... what?" asked Harry, bewildered.

Fred stood up, paced around a bit and then asked, "Harry, is it true, that you want to date our dear sister?"

"Well, I think I feel something for her..."

"Have you talked with her about that?" asked Bill sternly.

"No, not yet. What's wrong?" answered Harry. The sudden turn of conversation was unexpected for him.

"What's wrong? First: she's got somebody else. It isn't honorable thing to do to court a girlfriend of your friend when he is not around."

Harry frowned when he heard that. He didn't feel that he was doing something unacceptable.

"And second: she had a crush for you for all those years and you've noticed her only now when she finally got over you? What kind of man does that? And most importantly, she would be greatly endangered by being with you. Do you want her to be kidnapped by Death Eaters and killed just to hurt you?"

Harry stared at him, totally dumbfounded. Then he said, "This... this... you can't mean this!"

"By Merlin's arse, we do!" replied Bill angrily. "And if you aren't completely ungrateful, you should be glad that we stepped in before Mum and Dad found out. They love you, like their own. But they have six sons (seven with you) and only one daughter. You may guess twice who they love more. And if they ever find out about your intentions with Gin... well, as you said, we are your only family. And that means that you don't want to be one family shorter, do you?"

Harry, with great difficulty, swallowed the bitterness that formed in his throat. He looked at the twins.

"Guys?" he asked them.

"Harry, you know that we are game for anything. But this is serious, deadly serious. We know that we owe you and you can ask anything from us but not our sister. We trust Bill's judgment in this matter."

At last, Harry turned to Ron. After all, it was him who helped him to realize his feelings. But Ron just said,

"Oh come on. I'm your friend but I'm also Ginny's brother. Don't make me choose between you and my family."

Harry turned away from them and fought the tears. Then he stuttered, "This is unexpected. I..."

But then he realized that they were right. He took a breath and finished, "As you wish." and walked out.

Bill rose from his chair and called, "Harry!" He wanted to make sure that the message was clear. But Ron just put an arm on his shoulder and gesticulated to him to be silent.

On his way back to the house, Harry encountered Ginny, who was searching for him.

"Harry, there you are!" she said.

"Er, sorry. I need to find Hermione and get some revising done."

"What? I thought that we could go for a walk..." said Ginny and took Harry's arm.

"Just leave me alone!" shouted Harry, yanked his arm free and ran away.

Ginny was bewildered and a bit hurt. Then she suspiciously looked at the broom shed and walked towards it.

Ron watched her through the hole in a plank and silently said, "She is coming here. Quickly Bill, Apparate us!"

"I can't, she would hear it. Boys, you surely know some concealing charms, do you?"

"Sure." said twins and quickly casted four spells. When Ginny came, she didn't see anybody. Then she just sighed and left.

The same day, in the evening, Harry partially changed his mind and decided to talk with Ginny. But she was still piqued so when he approached her, she just made an excuse and went to help Fleur with something.

During the next few days, Harry spent most of his time with Hermione learning new spells and doing homework. But she, even when she liked Harry, soon became bothered by his attention because she wanted to hang out with Ron. And so, he spent most of his time alone or in the kitchen, helping Molly.

Molly and Arthur soon noticed the change in Harry's behaviour.

"What's wrong with him?" Molly asked Arthur. "What if he tried to deny Sirius's death and it's coming back to him?"

"It's possible. But there is another explanation." replied Arthur.

"And that is?"

"When his mood changed, we managed to thwart Death Eaters' attack on a muggle village."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes." confirmed Arthur. "Now You-Know-Who is annoyed and Harry with him."

"But if You-Know-Who is annoyed, then Harry should be happy."

"Not if You-Know-Who's mood is transferring directly to Harry."

"Oh the poor boy." sniffed Molly.

The rest of the summer passed in the same manner.

**Winter of the next year, The Forest of Dean:**

Harry was pulled from the icy water.

"Harry, Harry, are you okay?" he heard somebody ask him.

When the shock from the freezing water passed, he recognized his saviour.

"Ron?" said Harry but Ron remained silent.  
"You've returned." stated Harry. Then he used Hermione's wand to dry and warm himself.

"Yeah, I've been searching for you for hours and then I saw that doe. Harry, I'm sorry I left. I don't know what happened." Ron said, his voice trailing off.

"It's okay, Ron." interrupted Harry with a cold voice. "I've never asked you to come with me. Participation in this mission is hardly mandatory. So, I can't possibly hold you here."

"Harry..." croaked Ron.

"Come on. We have the sword, let's finish this."

When the horcrux was destroyed, Harry wearily sat on a rock. Then he said, "Ron. That vision, or fear of yours, that was really disgusting. She is like my sister! I had no idea that you thought... It would be like you and Ginny!"

"Yuck!" laughed Ron. "Or you and Ginny." he added.

Harry froze and then sternly said, "Enough of this. We need to talk."

"Er, yes?" asked Ron warily.

"As I said, Hermione is like my sister. She means a lot to me. And you hurt her. She cried for weeks."

"I... I know."

"You kept hurting her for several past years. You probably haven't realized that. This year, she gave you one last chance. And you threw it in her face!"

"Harry, I know. I messed up."

"And from what I just saw you still consider her as 'yours'. How dare you? If there was anything between you, you broke it up. I won't let you to mess with her feelings. She is not important just to me, she is important for this mission as well."

"Harry, please." begged Ron.

"Now, I'll take you to the tent. You shall apologize to her but that's it. Stay away from her. Promise me that or you can return back from where you came."

Ron stared at his friend. Then he asked, "Is this some kind of vendetta? Harry, I swear that I won't hurt Hermione again."

But Harry was adamant. Finally, Ron gave a promise, fully intending to break it.

**The night of the final battle, The Forbidden Forest:**

_"Onward Harry, onward."_ the dark voice of the two hallows kept saying. Harry threw the stone away and it stopped. When he reached the clearing, he took the cloak off, stuffed it in a pocket, and revealed himself to Voldemort and his Death Eaters and faced his destiny.

After his 'death' he opened his eyes a examined the white surroundings. When he stood up, a voice behind him said, "Harry. I've been expecting you."

_AN: Sorry, I can't reveal the rest of this yet. We shall return to this point later in flashback. I don't like to use flashbacks (after all, we aren't in Lost) and I shall avoid them in the future but this is an exception. _


	2. Chapter 2

The Next Day

Harry woke up. It was the day after the battle. He opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around - he was in seventh years' dormitory. Harry shook his head. There was something odd with his vision. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it was just different. Or maybe it wasn't and just his perception had changed. Since he had "died," things didn't look as before, didn't feel the same as before and food and water didn't taste as before. Just as he had been told.

Harry shuddered and stood up. He quickly showered and found new clothes. When he descended into the common room, he saw Ron sleeping with Hermione on a sofa. Harry frowned. It seemed that Ron was hell-bent to take even Hermione from him. But then Harry gathered all the hope that was left in him and let it fill his heart. The frown vanished from his face and he went through the portrait hole.

Harry walked through the damaged school. He passed people. Suddenly he realized what he had to do and started to search for Ginny. He guessed that she was sleeping but there was also possibility that she was still with Fred's body.

He went to the Great Hall. The bodies were still there. George was on guard with Fred's body. Percy was with him. Harry wanted to go to them but then he stopped, unsure about what to do.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" said Neville who suddenly came to Harry's side. "Mrs. Weasley was with Fred's body for the whole time. It was only two hours ago that Mr. Weasley talked her into taking a rest."

Harry didn't know whether Neville was just so dumb or if he said it to hurt him. But Neville's voice was sincere, and the latter option was very "un-Nevillish", so he just asked, "And Ginny? Do you know where she is?"

"She stayed with her mum at first but she went to bed a few hours ago." Harry just nodded and Neville added, "I want to tell you that professor McGonagall, Kingsley, Mr. Weasley and a few other people are in headmaster's office and they are discussing something. I think it's the current situation or something like that."

"Thanks," said Harry and left.

Harry got to the entrance and the gargoyles moved aside. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. The voices inside fell silent and McGonagall opened the door moment after that.

"Harry, we weren't expecting you. How may I help you?" she said.

"I've just heard that you are here so I'm here to join you," replied Harry and entered the office.

Kingsley curiously looked at Harry and said, "I thought that you were up for more than 24 hours. We didn't expect you to be up this soon, after only a few hours of sleep." Kingsley stopped when he saw Harry's look.

"So what's the situation?" asked Harry.

"Well," started Mr. Weasley. "We have all the Death Eaters we captured yesterday safely locked in dungeons. A lot of Imperiused people snapped out of it..."

"I know that already. But what about the Death Eaters who weren't here yesterday? And what is the situation at the Ministry? And what about the muggles? Does the prime minister know about what happened?"

Kingsley contemplated for a while and then he said, "The prime minister wasn't told yet. We shall get to it later. As to the Death Eaters: almost all of them were here but yes - there are still a few of them out there."

"And the situation in London?" pressed Harry. Kingsley and Mr. Weasley looked awkwardly at each other and then Harry continued, "Let me guess. There is a lot of white collars who dipped their fingers during Voldemort's regime and now they are afraid. Like our dear friend Umbridge for example. Am I right?"

Mr. Weasley sighed and said, "Yes. In a principle, you are."

And Kingsley added, "They were in chaos at first when we won the battle and captured Thicknesse, but then they organized themselves. I heard that they say that we forced Thicknesse to resign and that my appointment is invalid."

"How unexpected," said Harry, his voice heavy with irony.

"Don't assume they're all bad, Harry," said Mr. Weasley. "Lots of bureaucrats were intimidated into rolling over with the regime. And now, the circle of voluntary collaborators simply continues to intimidate and blackmail them. They want to remain in power to ensure that they won't be prosecuted for their crimes. Soon, they'll probably attempt to negotiate with us. They will say that they were somehow controlled and that we are a bunch of dangerous militiamen."

Harry snorted at that and said, "Yeah, that sounds definitely like something that Umbridge and her friends would say. I bet that she would swear that she was also controlled by something when she sent those dementors at me or when she wanted to Cruciate and kill me and my friends."

"What? What are you talking about?" asked McGonagall.

"I'm talking about my fifth year."

"Why haven't you told us anything?"

"You mean you didn't know? I should have killed her at the beginning of this term when I had the chance." The others flinched at his words.

Harry though for a while and then he asked, "So, the most important question is: who will fight for them?"

The other people in the room looked at each other and then Kingsley answered, "Some aurors, since there were collaborators among them. And there is still a large number of muggle-born hunters. They aren't very capable but they are determined to support the current regime for obvious reasons."

Harry again thought about that and then said, "The status quo is unacceptable. At first: we must defend this school and we must not let the enemy in here. At second: we must under no circumstances release our prisoners. We shall execute them if we must but we can't afford to fight them ever again. Is there a way to ensure this? Some kind of drug or something like that would be great." The people in the room were more and more shocked by his words but Harry continued, "At third: We need to strike now and strike hard! If we are quick enough then we might be able to take advantage of the protection I gave you yesterday. It will probably wear of soon since it wasn't made for such a large number of people. And the caster isn't supposed to live of course."

After a while, Kingsley tentatively replied, "Harry we don't have the ability to strike neither now nor hard. A lot of people have died and most of the survivors are injured, tired and in shock."

"Well, it's without the shield them but we still need to make our move as soon as possible."

"We don't even have the..." said Kingsley and fell silent as he remembered something. "Where is the Elder wand?" he asked.

Professor McGonagall immediately voiced her objections and Kingsley defended himself.

"Excuse me?" interrupted them Harry. "About that wand..." and then he reached in his pocket and placed a wand on a table. And there it was - the Elder wand, snapped in two separate halves. Everybody gasped.

"You snapped it? How?" asked McGonagall.

"Simply, with my hands. I just thought it might work and it did."

"And what about muggles?" asked Harry then. A strange contemplating process flashed through his mind and its outcome was: yes. "We could contact the prime minister and tell him about everything," continued Harry. "He could support us and lend us some men."

"Harry," said Kingsley. "That would require him to disclose our existence to other people. People in military. They wouldn't be very delighted to hear that we were the cause of all those strange things that happened during the last few years. And plus, if wizards see muggle soldiers attacking them, they won't surrender, they shall fight like never before. Such a thing could unite all wizards in this country against us and muggles."

Harry silently stared at the table and pocketed the shards of the wand. Then he said, "Look. No matter what happens, we need to be prepared. Do you agree at least with that?" People nodded and Harry continued, "That means fully warded school, prisoners secured and people combat ready. Kingsley, our society won't make it without you as our Minister. We have to consolidate your power. And we can't treat the traitors like an official institution - that would be an insult to everybody who died or suffered in this war. And mark my words - the muggleborns who were mistreated by Thicknesse's regime could simply turn to muggle authorities instead of us."

People in the room considered his words in silence and then McGonagall said, "Harry. There is also another thing we need to consider."

"And that is?"

"If we push too hard, it might lead to a civil war. And we don't need that, do we?"

"So what do you suggest?"

"Before you came, we thought that we could play along for a while. The word about what happened yesterday is spreading. The Ministry will be unable to hold it's position, people wouldn't allow it."

At those words, Harry started to laugh. Then he said, "People? People are nothing more then a bunch of cowards, collaborators and opportunists. They believe what press tells them. If we don't do anything, the ministry will convince them that we are a bunch of guerilla who are opposing the ministry which withstood Voldemort's power. For all we know they might even convince people that I'm just a new dark lord who wants to replace Voldemort."  
Harry briefly scanned the others and continued, "But if we play our cards right, everything will be different. People believed for one year that I am the chosen one and now they have already heard that I've killed Voldemort. If we took... liberated the Daily Prophet, we could tell everybody what happened and how it happened. I've defeated him merely by letting him to kill me. People are going to love that! And you Kingsley. Instead of a leader of a bunch of guerrillas you will turn into a symbol of order and justice."

Harry finally saw that his words were starting to have a slight effect. He then continued with the others to discuss some more details of their situation and their possible actions. The others didn't say anything but by some inexplicable way he was able to tell that the others didn't agree with him.

When he thought that they discussed everything they could, Harry excused himself, "If you excuse me, I've got a matter of personal nature to take care of."

Harry briefly looked at Mr. Weasley as he said that and then left. He noticed that the others didn't move, as if they wanted to discuss something more. At first he thought he could eavesdrop but as he moved away from the door, he felt a detection spell. Not caring how he was able to sense that, Harry climbed down the stairs. Outside, he took the shards of the fake Elder Wand out of his pocket and let them vanish.

Harry ate some food, talked to the people he met, helped with the preparations of bodies in coffins and so on. There were a lot of causalities but nobody blamed him for them and nor did he blame himself. What troubled him more was his current state and things he heard from the Hallows and during his "death." He also talked to some of his friends like Neville and Dean and carefully slipped them pieces of information about their current situation.

Finally Hermione and Ron woke up as well and went down to the Great Hall. They were holding hands and looked happy with each other. They made a small talk and when Hermione wasn't watching, Harry gave Ron a meaningful and threatening look. Then he asked, "Have you seen Ginny when you were in our dormitories?"

"No. I think she is still sleeping," answered Hermione.

"She didn't look good yesterday. I don't think it's a good idea to talk to her," added Ron. That gained him a bewildered look from Hermione. Harry stood up and left.

He went to the Gryffindor common room and waited. Some time later, Ginny appeared on the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. She didn't look good. She had not slept well because of nightmares and she had been shaken by the battle and by the death of her brother.

When she got down, Harry approached her and started, "Ginny..."

Ginny looked at him. He had been a real ass for the whole time she knew him. Seeing him seemingly dead wasn't a pleasant experience either. Also, all she could think about was her dead brother, her grieving mother and so many people she had seen die.

"Huh? I'm not feeling well," she said.

"Please, I need to talk to you. It's important."

Ginny wasn't even listening properly and just replied, "I'm not in a mood for talking."

Then she pushed past him and went down. Harry hung his head. After a while, he left as well. He failed to notice that Charlie Weasley was watching him from the other stairs for the whole time.

Harry wandered the corridors for a while until he met Mr. Weasley. He told him, "Harry, there you are. I just wanted to tell you that the Ministry, as we have expected, made contact with us. They are sending their representative soon."

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

"We shall listen to what they have to say."

"That's wise."

As Harry walked away, Mr. Weasley watched him and pondered whether he shouldn't talk to him. Like a father. But then, he had lost a son and he didn't know if he could handle such a conversation right then. So he decided to wait.

The day continued. Harry helped with anything that needed to be done. He contemplated his options for the future and tried to approach Ginny one more time. That time she tried to listen to him but was immediately called off to help her mother with something.

Harry was approached by Charlie then. "Hey Harry, how are you coping?" he asked him.

"Yeah, I'm coping. But isn't it me who should be asking you that? I'm sorry for Fred."

That diverted Charlie from his direction a bit so he said, "Yes, it's sad but it could be worse. He fought for what he believed in. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Harry thought "Here it comes," and asked, "Well?"

"You see Harry, I talked with my brothers and with my father and I have to state: I hope you aren't going to try something stupid with Ginny. You know what my brothers told you. I know that you grew wiser since then and you don't need anybody to tell you what to do anymore. But still, I feel compelled to tell you that it's not a good time since she doesn't feel well. And you don't feel well. Which is understandable after all you've been through but that doesn't change the fact that you are not yourself. At least your normal self. And when I saw you to approach her more than one time..."

"Look, as much as I enjoy chatting with you, I have to interrupt you," interrupted him Harry. "Yes, I wanted to talk to her to express my condolence but I have talked to many people today. And now, I would like to remind you that we are in a middle of a war. I really don't have time nor energy to discuss such things and it surprises me that you and your brothers do. Are you ready to go into combat this instant? Yes? Good. Then go and make sure that everybody else is as well."

Harry then turned around and left. Charlie glared after him. His words stung his pride. Harry talked to him like he had not lost a brother recently and like he had not fought in the battle.

Harry found an empty classroom and sat there for a while. He clutched his cloak in one hand and the (real) Elder Wand in the other. The renewed voice of the Hallows was whispering again.


	3. Chapter 3

White Collars

Harry watched from a window as four people from the Ministry approached. There was a brief commotion at the gate but then those people were let in. He went to the conference room. He wasn't sure if the others wanted him there but nobody dared to say anything.

The meeting started. The diplomat and his three associates in many meaningless words told them that the best thing for them to do is to let the things be. McGonagall and Kingsley reacted to it diplomatically but Harry didn't. McGonagall discreetly hushed and reprimanded him a few times for that.

Then one time, when she was doing so, the diplomat said, "If you would allow, I think Mr. Potter can speak for himself and that he is entitled to his opinions."  
McGonagall turned to him with venom in her eyes but he continued, "In fact, I hoped that we could get a moment alone with Mr. Potter."

Kingsley broke his diplomatic decorum for the first time and exclaimed, "The hell you could! Do you think we are idiots?"

One of the associates replied on that, "We would like to know what he has to say when he is out of your hearing range. The Ministry believes that Mr. Potter is currently being manipulated by you, as he was manipulated by Dumbledore before..."

Harry laughed and then said, "At first you said that I had killed him, now you say that he manipulated with me, what's next?"

Harry drew Draco's wand and said, "Would you excuse us for a moment?" and casted a privacy charm. Then he turned to Kingsley and the others, "Did you search them?"

"We wanted to, but they refused. They didn't even surrender their wands. But we let them because it's only a diplomatic gesture from their side, they can't do anything with all of us here. And we have casted detection spells on them and they didn't have any portkeys or anything else that could be dangerous. Of course, it's still unthinkable for you to be alone with them."

Harry thought for a while and then said, "No, let's do it. It's possible that they really believe it and this could solidify our position in their eyes."

Before Kingsley could stop him, Harry lifted the charm and told the diplomat, "I accept. Let's go in the next room."

McGonagall stood up and voiced her objections but Harry was already leaving with the people from the Ministry. Disapproval of everybody even raised when they realized that Harry wanted to speak with all four of them alone and that they are keeping their wands. But somehow, Harry managed to keep them at bay and closed the door behind him.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" said Harry broadly when they were alone.

"We just want to ask you a couple of questions." said the diplomat.

Then they talked for a while. The people from the Ministry asked him questions about his last year and slightly hinted that he could be prosecuted for some things he did.

Finally, the diplomat asked, "We've also heard that you are in possession of items that we believe are pieces of advanced magical technology."

"Oh yeah, you think the cloak, the wand and the stone?"

"Yes." Said the diplomat with a smile.

"Well, I chucked the stone away. I don't know where it is. At the time, I didn't think I would ever return and tried to find it. As to the wand, I snapped it. Kingsley and the others saw the shards, you can ask them. And the cloak? That's a precious family heirloom. I've got it from my father and he from his father and so on. So I'm really not going to give it to you."  
The others were disconcerted by his words but Harry continued, "But don't be disaponted. The first two items had no practical usage and the cloak was already examined by experts. The result are contemporary cloaks of invisibility I think."

The diplomat spluttered a bit and then said, "Potter, I don't know if what you said is true but if it is than it was really stupid from you!"

And then the diplomat tried to uncover Harry's lie by legilimency. He wasn't very good at it and the circumstances weren't ideal for him but that played no role. He had delved into several minds before. Some had been just a bunch of information and all he had had to do had been to reach and look at the right one. Other minds had been more organized - up to the point where he, with his feeble attempts couldn't achieve anything. But in Harry's head he found nothing else then inhumanly neat structure. He didn't recognize anything that resembled occlumency defenses but yet he couldn't find a single crevice. It was unsettling.

"What do you really want?" asked Harry.

Because the diplomat was silent, one of his companions said, "To find truth. We need information! Where are those three items, what really happened here, what are your plans and so on."

"You already know what happened." said Harry with a grin.

"Do you think we believe that bunch of fairytales about miracles? What you keep telling us is in conflict with the laws of magic. It simply can't be true because there is no such thing as miracle! We always knew you were Dumbledore's puppet and now Kingsley and the others are pulling at your strings!"

At that moment, Harry was reminded of his uncle and his "There is no such thing as magic!" He said, "Well, I wanted to find information as well and predict the plans of the Ministry. But I see that this is leading nowhere."

Harry swished with a wand behind his back and the room became acoustically insulated. Another swish and the door was locked.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the others in the room but Harry just assumed a combat stance. The others took out their wands. And then Harry attacked. At first, he held himself back and only stunned one of his opponents. He let two of them to occupy him and the third to revive the stunned one. But then he came down upon them in earnest.

His opponents weren't good duelers so he would take them all down by himself even before his death. But now, it was a child's play. The world went gray and colourfull at the same time (or maybe it was that way always). He had a feeling that he can sense every buildup in his enemies' wands and every movement of their muscles. Or maybe he dreamt it.

After a few seconds, the first one yelled in pain. His belly was bleeding and he fell to the floor, clutching at his guts. Then second and third followed. Harry left the largest one for the end. He closed the distance between them and from a point-blank range casted a spell.

Kingsley and the others quickly found out that something was wrong. In fact, they were waiting by the door for something like that with their wands prepared. They broke in. They were startled by what they saw. Five bodies lay on the floor and blood was everywhere. They ran to Harry who was slumped by the wall. When they touched him, he immediately moved and gripped Kingsley's neck. He opened his eyes, saw who it was and released his grip.  
"That's you. Sorry." he said and stood up. He rubbed his head.

"What happened?" asked Kingsley.

"Well, they were assassins. They attacked me some time after we came in here. I wanted to stun them at first but they just used a reviving spell. So I had to use something more lethal. Then it all happened really fast. I wanted to capture the last one alive but he tried to attack me physically. I used a blasting hex but he was already at me by that time. Well, and as you see..." Harry lifted Draco's wand which was snapped in half.  
"It seems that I am changing wands like socks. But since I defeated them then one of their wands should do." continued Harry and took one of the wands from the floor.

"They are all dead." said McGonagall.

"Are they total idiots?" exclaimed Kingsley. "This move of theirs makes no sense!"

"Well, they believed that I'm really only a puppet so they thought that they would succeed." replied Harry. "But otherwise you are right. How could they expect to kill me and then to escape out of here? It's like somebody made them forget about that."  
Everybody fell silent. Harry looked at them and then asked, "What? You did check them on psychical spells, did you?"

The others looked at each other and then Kingsley said, "Well, it seems that nobody thought about that. I didn't think that the Ministry would try something like that. And there are ways how to achieve such thing even without lingering magical effect."

"Well, I didn't think about it either." said Harry.

When they returned to the conference room, Harry said, "Well I think that the intentions of the Ministry are now clear. The fight is inevitable."

The others murmured.

"So, it's the Daily Prophet them?" asked Harry and looked expectantly at the others.

Kingsley stared in a wall and then he said, "With our options, it will require a perfect planning..."

Harry grinned.

* * *

It was evening and the new issue of the Daily Prophet was almost prepared for the next morning. Redactors and reporters were finishing their job and some of them were preparing to go home. What was unusual (at least before the war) were the guards who were present in the building. They paced through the redaction and oversaw the work.

One of the redactors sipped from his coffee. Suddenly he started vomiting in his trash bin. A few people looked in his direction. When he wasn't stopping, more and more people turned their attention to him.  
"Oh come on! That's disgusting!" shouted one of the guards.

When everybody was distracted, two stunners soared and hit their targets. More followed and before anybody could do anything, all the guards were down. The staff looked wildly around, with their wands drawn. Kingsley and Harry took off their cloaks and revealed themselves.

"Good evening." said Kingsley with a broad smile. "As you might already know, I am Kingsley Shacklebolt, your new minister. And this young gentleman here is Harry Potter, your saviour."

As he was speaking, a few order members came in. Kingsley wanted to continue but one of the redactors swished his wand and shot a curse at him. There was a brief skirmish but everybody who opposed them was soon stunned or disarmed.

Then Kingsley again addressed the employees of the Daily Prophet, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we represent the new government which was established when Voldemort's regime failed."  
People flinched at his name but Kinglsey continued, "You represent what's left of that regime."  
Cries of disapproval filled the redaction but Kingsley silenced them, "Those of you who are responsible for the crimes of this institution will be dealt with later. Right now, we have work for you."

The building was secured and the work began. They had only several hours and a lot of editing to do. Some of the content remained as it was, some needed to be changed and some articles were removed. And several new ones were added. Apart from a brief rehash of things that people should already know (from Potterwatch or their friends), they also reported the recent development, including the assassination attempt on Harry. They also reminded readers that it was Umbridge's second(/third?) attempt to kill him. All the articles referred to the ministry in London as to "remnants of Voldemort's regime" and the group around Kingsley was pictured as an official government. They also hinted that Voldemort's followers might take over the Daily Prophet and continue with lie-spreading. Harry proposed that they could move the Daily Prophet away but when he saw all the equipment needed for running it, he gave up on that idea.

They finished their work in time and waited for the morning. Some time before sunrise, hundreds of owls took their packages and flew away.

* * *

Dolores Umbridge woke up. She was at the Ministry in London since she wasn't sleeping at home since the war ended. Her first thought was that she must find out if their envoys returned from Hogwarts already. She went to her office and looked at the new number of Daily Prophet. She already knew what was going to be there but she wanted to look at non-political articles.

She spitted her coffee out. The headline on the front page was: "Voldemort is dead!" and bellow that was a subtitle: "As are his Death Eaters but the war continues."

* * *

A number of wizards approached the building of the Daily Prophet. They were trying to be discrete since there were muggles around them. They were composed mainly of muggleborn-hunters but there were two aurors with them as well.

They rushed in. Without resistance they got inside. When they saw nobody they stopped and looked around. Suddenly fireworks went off and created a diversion. Then the attackers were ambushed. They realized that they fell into a trap but it was too late. Before too long, they were all stunned and some of them even died.

Kingsley scanned the bodies and frowned when he saw the dead. He wanted to avoid causalities.

"Okay, that's it. Now what?" asked Kingsley when he, Harry and a few others met later.

"Well, they'll try it again obviously." meant one of his comrades.

"We might have time to release one more issue but it's a risk." said Harry. "I certainly wouldn't be here when they come."

They began to work. They wrote about anything new and repeated in more detail what they didn't manage in the previous issue. They released their new issue a bit prematuraly and packed up. A few sentries with cloaks were left at the watchout.

After some time, a new wave of attackers came. They slowly crept in the building, careful not to fall in a trap. Suddenly a wail of police sirens reached the area. Sentries placed there by Kingsley were startled when they heard them and a few moments after that, the attackers inside the building were as well. The only one who wasn't surprised was Harry. He wasn't supposed to be there but yet he was. He walked away from a phone booth, hidden under his cloak. He found an empty alley and apparated away.

The police cars stopped in front of the building of the Daily Prophet and cops jumped out. They weren't ordinary cops, they were armed. The wizards inside couldn't apparate because of the wards. The cops rushed in and found the wizards who started to cast spells. The cops panicked and opened fire. The skirmish turned quite bloody in few seconds.

* * *

"How could that happen?" asked Kingsley at Hogwarts.

"Well somebody saw the attackers, found them suspicious and called police." proposed Mr. Weasley. "But that doesn't explain why armed cops arrived and opened fire."

"Maybe the caller thought they are from IRA?" remarked Harry.

Kingsley rubbed his brow and the said, "Well, now I need to go to the prime minister and explain everything to him in detail. I think I should have done that already since the Ministry might do the same."

"Phe! They are too arrogant to do that." disagreed Harry.

"Yeah." agreed Kingsley. "But we are still lucky that he knows me. I'll go soon."

"Wait." said Harry. "Should you really go alone? I think that I and maybe few others should go as well. And somebody should watch our back, the prime minister might be watched."

Kingsley agreed. One hour later, he, Harry and professor McGonagall visited the prime minister. A few order members were in the area on a lookout. Kingsley introduced his two companions and then they told him about everything that happened in the past year. The minister was both relieved and worried at the same time. They also discussed the possible actions. After a few hours, they left.

Later that day, Harry firmly decided to talk with Ginny. He knew that he should have done that sooner but various reasons had delayed him. After exerting some effort, he managed to corner her. She didn't look very happy, she was almost annoyed. Harry took it as a bad sign since he didn't know that she reacted like that to everybody.

"Gin. At first, I want to tell you that I'm sorry." said Harry to her.

"Yeah. Everybody says that nowadays. 'Sorry for your brother little one.' I'm starting to be sick of it." reacted Ginny rather too much harshly.

"No, no. I mean yes, I miss Fred too, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, go on then."

Harry took a breath and after a bit of thinking he told her, "Ginny. I know that I wasn't treating you well in the past years. I could have been a better friend to you. And that's what am I sorry for."

Ginny sighed. She didn't know why he was bringing this up now when there was so much more important things to take care of. She said, "If you expect me to say 'That's OK.' then you are deeply mistaken! My life wasn't very good since you appeared and Ron started to hang out with you and Hermione. Everything started to turn around you. Before you came I never felt so alone. In my fourth year, I thought that things might turn better, that we might be even friends one day. But my fifth year took my illusions away. And this year? This year..."

"No!" interrupted her Harry. "That's not how it was!" He meant that he let her be because of her brothers.

"Oh yes it was!" shouted Ginny. "And there's a news flash for you and everybody else: while you were out there saving the world, I was stuck up in this shitty school! Do you have any idea what was it like in here? Do you think that those fucking muggle relatives of yours are bad? Then you think wrong! We were tortured on daily basis. One day I met a bunch of slytherins. When they realized I was alone, they attacked me. After one minute I was down on the floor and they were standing around me, casting curses at me and shouting at me. I was so afraid. Luckily Flitwick appeared and chased them away from me."

Harry stared at her. Her story totally dispelled any anger that had built up in him when he heard her accusations. Then he said, "Ginny, I'm really sorry for what you have been through. I don't want to detract what you've experienced in here. But I didn't come to argue with you. There is something I must tell you."

Ginny calmed down a bit. She was a bit sorry for what she said but she wasn't going to show it. She told him, "Okay. Out with it, I'm listening."

"Ginny, I... I... Ginny. What I wanted to tell for the past few days is that I love you."

Ginny stared at him. She blinked a few times and dumbly chuckled. Then she said, "Excuse me Harry? I think I didn't hear it correctly."

"I love you Ginny."

She again stared at him. Her brain refused to accept his words as anything else then a bad joke. And her heart? That was quite indifferent. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Deadly serious Gin."

"Look, I don't know what do you expect me to say. Do you expect me to jump in joy? Well, I see no reason why I should. Maybe five years ago, but today? Frankly I don't understand why are you telling me this at all. Especially now! Couldn't it wait for a better time?"

"Ginny." interrupted her Harry. "I have loved you for a long time. Years actually."

Ginny had again some difficulties with comprehending of Harry's words. After a while she asked, "What? Are you sure? Because, you know, if it was true then I would surely notice, don't you think?"

"It's true! I loved you for years. I wanted to tell you in the summer before my sixth year."

"Yes? Then why you didn't?"

"Trust me. There were strong outer reasons."

"Yeah, I know, I know." said Ginny and meant Voldemort.

Harry was bewildered. She had known? But she had would say something if it was true. Before he could attempt to clarify this misunderstanding, a voice called from the door, "Ginny! There you are. Mum's searching for you." It was Bill. Without a word, Ginny turned to leave.

"No! Wait! He is doing it on purpose!" shouted Harry.

"Not now Harry." replied Ginny.

Ginny left and Bill entered the room. He was glaring at Harry for a moment and then he said, "Some people are incorrigible."

At those words, Charlie, Percy and Ron entered as well.

"We told you to stay away from her." continued Bill. "But you knew better. And what's the result? You've only upset her."

"You bastards!" roared Harry. "That's because of you! If I told her that summer, everything would be OK. You ruined everything!"

"Don't you dare to blame us!" yelled Charlie. "You are such a hypocrite! You tried to ruin Ron's relationship with Hermione. And she is not even related to you! And now you have an audacity to accuse us!"

Then Ron added, "I saw this coming for a long time. I'm telling you: stay away from my sister and stay away from me and Hermione. Or I'll tell her that you wanted to mess with her life."

Harry was enraged. They were the people he loved like his own family. They were the people he had died for! He took out his wand and cried, "You are going to regret this!"

The others took their wands as well and Bill said, "Come on, don't be stupid. Put it back at once."

Harry responded by a powerful stunning curse. Bill managed to conjure a shield but he staggered back anyway. Harry would get him by another spell but the other three boys attacked him with full force. It was probably his most intense duel since his death. He again noted how different everything was. The world was a blur of a gray background and of coloured pieces of information important for the fight. His brain was processing them calmly end effectively. Where his opponents used instincts, he used cool tactic. Maybe his vision was a matter of interpretation (after all, everybody's eyesight is an image created by their brains) but he was sure that he also saw things that he did not before his death. Bill, Percy and Charlie weren't using incantations but it made them no good. Harry saw every spell before it left a wand. It was even stronger than when he fought the "assassins". Harry's opponents started to loose their strength while Harry showed no wear. Ron was stunned. Percy wanted to revive him but Bill and Charlie were unable to give him a cover.

Suddenly Mrs. Weasley came and saw what was happening. She froze in the doorway and then shouted, "Stop it!" but nobody listened to her. And then she saw something she couldn't believe. Percy, who was trying to revive Ron, was hit by Harry's spell and it made a deep gash in his shoulder. Percy yelled and clutched his wound. Molly immediately shot a petrifying curse on Harry. Harry's senses detected it and because he didn't know who was attacking him, he conducted a counterreaction: a pirouette aside, light shield and a covering blasting curse. Molly barely managed to cover behind the doorframe. She was shocked and hurt by Harry's action.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked. Her feelings were evident from her voice. Harry finally heard her and froze. Bill's and Charlie's curses were absorbed by his shield. Then Molly casted another petrifying curse and scored a direct hit. Harry fell on the floor. Molly entered the room and barked, "What does it mean?"

Charlie caught his breath. He was hardboiled by years of making plausible excuses to his mother. He told her, "We heard Harry and Ginny arguing. We came here to see what was that about. Ginny angrily left and when we asked Harry what happened he was enraged and attacked us."

Molly raised seven kids so she was no greenie in handling kids' argues. Normally, she wouldn't immediately believe such a story. Normally, she would pull everybody concerned by their ears. But this time, with this Harry... She had enough. She went to Percy and healed him. Then she revived Ron. Finally she took Harry's wand and aimed it at him. She told him, "We saw this coming and we did nothing. We should have talk to you, Arthur and me, but we did not. You are like on a rampage!"  
Then she released him and continued, "I shall keep you wand for now. And you will go to your dormitory to think about yourself. Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes." snarled Harry angrily. "Go to hell! All of you!"

"Now listen to me young men...!"

"I trusted you!" interrupted her Harry. "I opened my heart to you and you stabbed me in it. You hurt me more than Dursleys ever could!"

Harry pushed past Molly and ran away. She angrily called after him but to no avail. When nobody was around him, Harry threw his cloak on and drew the Elder Wand. He went out and headed towards the forest. When he reached it, he started to run. The rage was burning his insides.

_"Don't worry, everything will be alright soon."_ whispered the voice of the two hallows he had. _"Soon, we shall be togather. And then, you will be no longer forced to carry the burden of other people's expectations. No longer will you have to suffer their envy and malice. No longer will you be manipulated by them and used as a puppet. Togather, we shall be stronger than either of us could ever dream of."_

Harry found the place where he threw the stone away and with a little guidance from the voice, he found the third hallow. He calmed down and said, "I should have heed your advice since the beginning."


	4. Chapter 4

The Return of the King

_AN: OK, here is that flashback I promised you in the first chapter. It takes place after Harry was "killed" by Voldemort. So it replaces Harry's dialogue with Dumbledore in the chapter "King's Cross" in DH.  
Btw this chapter (and probably every following one) is not for fainthearted. _

**Start of the flashback.**

He opened his eyes a examined the white surroundings. When he stood up, a voice behind him said, "Harry. I've been expecting you."

Harry spun around. There was a blurred, indefinite spirit.

"It's you." addressed him Harry. "You were the one who was whispering to me."

The spirit just hovered there and then said, "Indeed."

Harry watched the spirit and paced around him. Then he asked, "Who are you? What are you?"

"I am the Deathly Hallows."

"Nonsense. Who you really are?"

"I've already told you that. But maybe the question you wanted to ask was: 'Who had you been before you became the hallows?' Well, and in that, I think that the tale that Hermione read to you might cue you."

"You mean you are Death? Who gave the Peverell brothers the Deathly Hallows? That's bullshit, they created them."

"Yes, that's true as well."

Harry was bewildered. He asked, "How do you mean that?"

"How do I mean that? Who I was? That's a long story and I'm not sure about it's beginning for I forgot much. I know that I wasn't a human when I had a body. I also know that my spirit wasn't always bound to the items called 'Deathly Hallows'. I was held in a single object. And I know I wasn't free, they (I don't know who) were using me for something. Necromancy probably. Then I somehow managed to escape and get to this world. Peverell brothers found me. I asked them to destroy the object in which I was and prepare three objects into which I could divide myself (I thought that I could be less traceable that way). In return, I imbued those objects with unique properties."

Harry released a breath by his nose and asked, "And what happened then?"

"They became famous and gained a name of great alchemists through me. And when they died, I changed owners and my parts... parted. I learned about your world and waited."

"For what?"

"For somebody like you."

Harry looked at the spirit curiously and asked, "Why?"

"This existence bores me. So I waited for my champion. None of the Peverell brothers was one. Nor any Gaunt with their rotten blood. Nor any of those maniacs who used my wand. The Potters and Dumbledore showed promise but none of them was the one. However, Dumbladore managed to collect two pieces of me. He was wise and powerful so I decided to talk to him."

"You can talk to anybody who has at least two pieces, right? Your voice stopped when I threw the stone away."

"Yes, when I want to."

The spirit floated closer to Harry and continued, "And then Dumbladore told me about you and gave you the cloak so I was able to keep an eye on you. You were very promising. Your mind was very broad and you never restrained it to the frame of the wizarding arts of this planet - unlike Dumbladore and others."

"What are you getting at?" asked Harry and stepped away.

"Harry, in years I watched with pride as you have become my champion."

Harry summed two and two and exclaimed, "Hey! Forget about it! I'm not becoming your host."

"Calm down Harry, nobody wants to steal you body. But if you agreed, I could join you. We would unite our powers and togather, we would be great! All you have to do is to unite all three hallows."

"No! This whole business reminds me of horcruxes and it's creepy."

"No Harry. This is not about splitting but about uniting. I'm not going to control you nor am I going to remove something from you. I shall only add my power and everything I remember to you - which includes Dumbladore's wisdom. And also memories of your father, grandfather and so on."

"Well, that would be quite a headache, wouldn't it? I said forget it, I'm not becoming your..."  
Harry stopped in the middle of sentence and then continued, "Wait a minute. I am dead. Then what are we talking about?" and a dread filled his mind. What if this spirit already took control of his dead body?

But the spirit quickly dispelled that dread, "I daresay no, you aren't dead. Unless you wish it."

"How is that possible?"

"At first: Tom used my wand to shoot that spell on you. And why should I kill you?"

"True."

"And at second. He didn't hit you, he destroyed his own horcrux inside your body."

"That means that we only need to kill Naginy and he will be mortal."

"Mortal and maimed my boy."

Harry paced around for some time and then asked, "So what happens now?"

"Right now, you have two choices: go on and truly die or go back and live. Well, you could also remain here."

"And if I return?

"Then you can do anything you want. You can unite the hallows and become one with me. Or not, I can't force you and I won't be angry. And of course, you would be always able to return to me in such a case - unless your qualities would change in such a way that would make you unable to be my champion. But remember this: by 'dying', by getting here, you were changed. You can't expect to experience death and remain same. Everything will be different to you from now on. I think that returning to the land of living and not uniting with me would be a mistake. However, it would a mistake that you would be always able to fix. Of course, you can now decide to go on and die. But you aren't that kind of man who would let the others win without a fight, I know that."

Harry contemplated his options and then he said, "Sorry, I don't think I can do it. I just want to return, kick Voldemort's ars, marry Ginny and have a family with her. That's my dream."

"As you wish. I promise that I won't let Voldemort to harm you or any of your friends. At least, for as long as he uses my wand."

Harry made a choice and everything dissolved.

**End of the flashback.**

Harry casted a cutting curse and sliced the stone in half. Then he tore his cloak in pieces. Finally he snapped the wand. He made a ball of the pieces of fabric and packed the pieces of the wand and of the stone in it. Then he lay on the ground and placed the ball on his chest.

_"Well, I don't say that it would be an easy decision to do this right after the battle but you could avoid a lot of hurt."_ said the voice.

_"Yes..."_ answered Harry in his mind.

_"You grew darker since then, it could have been avoided."_

_"Yes..."_ agreed Harry again.

_"But, that was only a continuing of something that was progressing for a long time. And you still meet all the needed requirements. Shall we proceed?"_

_"Yes."_

Harry closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness. The souls swirled and started to merge. It was like a balsam for Harry. Memories filled the prepared frame in Harry's mind. No man would be able to hold so much in his mind and stay sane - no living man.

After an hour or two, Harry started to wake up. Something was there... a giant spider! Just as it wanted to nibble on his leg, Harry waved his hand and the spider was obliterated. Harry stood up and returned to the castle. He got in his bed and fell asleep.

The next day Harry remained in the dormitory. Kreacher brought him food. He left only when he wanted to attend a meeting with Kingsley, McGonagall and others but Kingsley took him aside and told him, "Look Harry, you've been under the weather lately. It pains us to see you in such state. I would like you to take a break."

Harry calmly responded, "Kingsley, I have my suspicions that this decision of yours is based on false information. But I won't argue with you. See you later."

Harry then returned to his dormitory. He just lay in his bed and meditated, he had to make order in his head. There was so much to get accustomed to.

That night, a figure covered in shroud came in the part of the dungeons where the captured Death Eaters were inprisoned. The guards were dead before they saw anything. The figure unlocked some of the doors. Death Eaters came out and blinked at the figure.

"Who are you?" asked one of them.

"A friend." answered the figure. "Of yours and of your master's. I have came to set you free."

The Death Eaters were so surprised to hear that nobody even asked "Why should we trust you?" or something like that.

Harry continued, "Release the rest of your comrades. I've got you a few wands, you'll have to do with them for now. Leave the Hogwarts as quickly and quietly as possible. Don't attempt anything else or you will be captured. Then contact the Ministry, they are desperate to save their hides, they will unite with you. But don't trust them, they are able to sell you to Kingsley. Stay low, find your brethren who weren't here at the battle and await the usual signal from your lord."

"The Dark Lord lives?" asked one of the Death Eaters.

"No, not right now. But don't worry, he will join us. Soon."

The Death Eaters started to move and one of them asked, "And the Malfoys?"

"They are in another part of the castle. You'll have to leave them behind for now."

When they were all gone, the shroud dissolved and revealed Harry. He then proceeded with his work.

An hour later, he came in Myrtle's bathroom (Myrtle wasn't seen anywhere around). The last few body bags were floating behind him. He opened the entrance to the chamber and got down. He added the bags to the neat line at the side of the chamber and put some ice on them.

Then he approached the bag that was apart the others, at the base of the statue. He opened it and revealed Voldemort's face. Harry held his hand above his dead enemy and a strange energy emanated from it.

Then Harry sighed, "Tom, Tom, your feeble attempt for immortality only complicated things. There is not enough residual energy in you. This will be difficult."

The next day saw the Hogwarts in commotion. Harry ran out and asked what was happening but nobody could give him a clear answer. Finally he found Kingsley in the conference room. Others were there as well.

"Kingsley, what happened?" he asked resolutely.

Kingsley looked at him and answered, "They are gone."

"Who?"

"The Death Eaters. They escaped. And it seems that they took the bodies of Voldemort and their fallen friends."

Harry then continued to inquire and they discussed what could possibly happen. All of them agreed that it was probably an inside job and that they had a traitor among them. The possibility of the alliance of Death Eaters and the Ministry was also mentioned.

When they finished and Harry wanted to leave, Kingsley stopped him, "Harry. It's not safe for you to run around without a wand. Here."  
Kingsley gave Harry the wand that Molly took from him and continued, "Harry, these are bad times. We can't afford to fight each other. Please, pull yourself togather."

"I am pulled togather." replied Harry. "But it seems that the other people's nerves are on march."

Harry took the wand and turned to leave. He saw Bill fleetingly. Harry frowned and thought: 'It's time for revenge.'

That day, Fleur was alone in the Shell Cottage. Bill was somewhere out doing something for the order or the bank. Fleur went in the bathroom and filled the tube with hot water. She got in and relaxed as the pressure of the past days was leaving her.

Suddenly she heard something. She grabbed her wand and aimed it at the door. When nothing happened and there were no more sounds, she dropped the wand and relaxed again. But then the door opened and Harry rushed in. He brandished a mallet on meat. It was wrapped in a towel. Before Fleur could do anything, he hit her in the head and knocked her unconscious.

Harry made sure that there were no traces left. Then he grabbed Fleur and apparated away.

Later that day, Bill noticed that his wife was missing and told about it to his parents. When she still didn't show up an hour later, they told Kingsley. They had a second meeting that day and discussed Fleur's disappearance. They also discussed alarming news from London - that the Ministry was contacted by Death Eaters. This brought Kingsley and the others into consideration of the attack on the Ministry.

At night, Harry again descended in the Chamber of Secrets. He stepped to Voldemort's body and continued his work. Harry coated the body in a strange oil he brought. He also casted spells but it was obvious that he had some difficulties with them since they were new to him (technically speaking).

After some time he frowned and contemplated what he should do. His eyes also flicked to Fleur who was lying aside. She was bound and in magically induced sleep. There was something funny about her. Harry focused his senses on her and held his hand above her. Then he exclaimed, "Of course! You carry another life!"

Harry was lost in thought for a while and then he again turned to Fleur, "Well Fleur, your kid would die along with you anyway. I think we should let it die where its death would be usefull."

Harry dragged Fleur to Voldemort. He addressed the dead body, "I'm going through a lot of trouble because of you. I hope you will appreciate it."

Then he started the ritual. He wasn't sure if he was doing it correctly for he never done it before. However, he was successful and after an hour he closed Voldemort's bag with words, "Now it's looking better. See you tomorrow."

Then he turned his attention to Fleur. He cut her bounds and held a hand above her head. Then he made a cut on her neck and started to whisper, "Transform, transform."

As the blood was seeping from Fleur's wound, she slowly sprouted a beak and scaly wings grew from her shoulders. Before too long, a deadly beast lay in front of Harry. It broke from the sleep and croaked. It tried to attack Harry but it was weakened by the bloodloss. Harry held it down with telekinesis. As it was dying, Harry transmitted some dark energy to it.

Before leaving, Harry checked on the other bodies. Then he returned to his bed.

The next morning, Ginny was walking through a corridor. Suddenly a hand clutched her shoulder and dragged her behind an alcove behind a gobelin. She wanted to shriek but a hand abruptly covered her mouth. Then she saw it was Harry. He told her, "Shut up and listen finally! I won't let you go till you hear all I have to say."  
Ginny's mouth was still covered so she just eyed him bewilderedly. Harry continued, "Do you remember the summer two years ago? Before your fifth year?"

Ginny nodded with her eyes.

"I was constantly with you." continued Harry. "Why? Because I realized that I loved you. Everything seemed so bright suddenly. I already saw myself married to you and Ron to Hermione. We would be two happy families. We would visit each other at Sundays, we would take turns in looking after each others kids and so on."

Ginny just widened her eyes.

Harry's face then darkened and he continued, "But then I did something incredibly stupid. I talked about you with Ron. He immediately told his brothers and do you know what they did? Ron lured me in the broomshed and there they ganged on me. They forced me to let you be. They said that it's dangerous to be associated with me, that my future is uncertain and so on. They told me that your parrents would kick me out if they found out about us."

Harry's breathing was laboured and his voice was faltering. But inside, he was completely calm. He continued, "I was never loved before I met you. Dursleys, they treated me like a shit. But they couldn't harm me because I didn't let them past my shield. But when I met your family, I hoped that I found a place to belong to. I've let you in. And then I found out that it was a lie. Maybe even a lie that I've pulled over my eyes myself. It ripped me apart."

Harry released Ginny. She just stared at him, unable to say anything. Harry continued, "But that's not everything. After I had lost you, I realized that I still had a family left."

"Hermione?" asked Ginny in a weak voice.

"Yes. She was like a sister I never had. When Ron cowardly left us this year..."  
Ginny widened her eyes in surprise but Harry continued, "...she stayed with me and gave me strength to continue. But then I made the same mistake again: I told Ron about it. I told him that she is like my sister when he had the audacity to be jealous later."

Harry paused, caught his breath and continued, "But for the whole time, I hoped that one day, I would be with you again. When Voldemort killed me, I've returned because of you. I hoped that all my dreams will come true. But your brothers were of a different opinion. They approached me again and told me to stay away from you. And not only from you but also from Hermione! Ron doesn't want me near Hermione because of the same reason he doesn't want me near you. And when I refused to give up, they drew their wands and now even your parents are against me! I know that this might be not the best time to tell you such a thing. I mean, with Fred dead and Bill's wife missing. But I had to tell you."

Then he fell silent and waited for her reaction. Ginny looked shaken. Then she said, "This is terrible. Really terrible. I knew my brothers were overprotective but this..."  
Ginny took a deep breath and continued, "Still, I don't know what to tell you. Do you expect me to leave my family and be with you? I'm sorry, I can't order my heart. Maybe after the war, we could start from a beginning. Right now, I can't tell that I feel that way about you."

"Yeah. I can't say that I'm sure either. I loved you very much but now... Now I'm not sure if it's worth all the trouble. Maybe..."

Harry put his hand on her shoulder and leaned to her. But Ginny pulled away. "Stop it!" she exclaimed. "This makes me really uncomfortable."

"As you wish." said Harry.

Ginny turned to leave but stopped and said, "If Hermione is really like your family then go and talk with her. Tell her what you have told me. I shall help if Ron gives you any trouble. Maybe Hermione will be able to help you and heal your heart. I really can't do that since my own is currently in a mess."

Then she left.

Harry watched her as she walked away and pondered, whether it was worth it to reveal nearly a half of his cards to her. As she passed the corner he grinned when he asked himself whether she would be a good zombie. However, he almost instantly discarded that idea. If undead, then at least a proper one.

He also considered if he should tell Hermione. He had showed his cards to one smart witch already - he didn't need two smart witches to figure him out. But then he thought that it would a great blow to Ron and decided to go through with it.

Harry then briefly visited the Chamber of Secrets and checked the bodies and performed some quick spells on them.

There was a meeting that day. They planned the attack on the Ministry. It was scheduled for the next day. Harry was present at the meeting and was to be even included in the attack itself.

Harry then found a moment when Ron wasn't near Hermione and led her aside to talk with her. When they were alone, he expressed his feelings to her. She replied, "I know Harry. I love you like my own brother too. You were my first true friend ever.  
Harry smiled and Hermione continued, "So you'll surely understand when I tell you that I'm sad to see you like this. I mean, you were in a pretty bad shape for the whole year but now you are even worse."

Harry sighed and said, "Hermione, in a few moments I maybe tell you why is it so. But first, I need to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Hermione. Do you love Ron?"

She was a bit surprised by that question but then she answered. "Yes. I think I do. He might be thick and he might have a lot of bad traits but he has a good heart. I love him and his family, there's simply so much love around them. I never experienced something like that before since I was a singleton..."

"And that's what I am concerned about Hermione." interrupted Harry.

Hermione was bewildered by his words and asked him to explain. And so Harry told her most of what he told Ginny. He described the things a bit differently and was more carefull. While he had let Ginny to smell his anger, he showed Hermione only sadness and let her to get angry by herself. She grinned when she heard how Harry scorched Ron for leaving her and how he threatened to rip of his head if he ever dares to hurt her again. And she was enraged when she heard that Ron doesn't want her to be associated with Harry anymore.

At the same time, Ginny approached her mother, "Mum? I think I need your advice."

Molly noticed the troubled look of her daughter and asked, "Yes dear?"

Ginny then proceeded to tell her what Harry told her. Molly was very saddened by her words. Ginny then finished with, "And now I can't even go and scold my brothers for what they did. Not with Fred and Fleur..." Her voice then faltered and she fell silent.

Molly sighed and fought the tears. Then she said, "This really explains much. Back then we thought with Arthur that he is in a bad mood because of You-know-who. Well, now I know the truth."

"Mum. What should I do now?"

"You have to ask yourself: how do you feel about him?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I love him. And I'm not sure if he really loves me."

Molly put her hands on Ginny's cheeks and told her, "Ginny. I don't approve of what your brothers did. It's against everything that we taught them with Arthur. But I couldn't fail to notice how much Harry changed. There's something dark in him, I feel it. He is not the same innocent boy that didn't know how to get on the platform."

"But mum, don't you see it? It's us who made him that way. Isn't it our responsibility to heal him again?"

"It wasn't just us. And plus, it's our choices that defines us. And he chose what he did. Ginny, I... when he attacked me, it broke my heart. None of you ever tried to hurt me, not even when you were in the middle of a most heated row. I think you should stay away from him for now."

Ginny wanted to remark that maybe Harry didn't know that it was her but she couldn't bring herself to defend him. And so she just lay her head on her mum's chest and cried.


	5. Chapter 5

The Immortal Returns

Voldemort's body was sprawled on the floor. Harry drew a pentagram with chalk and placed candles in its tips but that was mainly for effect. He was finishing the ritual that he was conducting for the last three days.

Finally the last burst of magic entered Voldemorts body and he moved. For a few moments he was just twitching his limbs and lolling his head. Then he opened his eyes.

"Lay still." ordered Harry and took a vial of drops from his pocket. He dropped a few drops in Voldemort's eyes to clear his vision (Voldemort's eyeballs were curdled a bit). He knew that an undead could do without it but he wanted Voldemort to have a normal vision as well.

Voldemort tried to say something but only a gurgling left his throat.

"Yeah, yeah. We shall do something with it but first, drink this. It shall give you strength."

Voldemort didn't heard him well but he didn't need to. Harry raised his head and poured a potion in his throat. Then he applied some drops on his vocal cords and ears.

They both rested for an hour. Then Harry walked to Voldemort again and said, "Rise."

Voldemort started to rise and it would be quite a dramatic scene if he didn't slipped. He was too clumsy to stand up on his own so Harry helped him. They tottered to the nearest pillar and Voldemort leaned on it. Harry still had to support him.

"Who do you serve?" asked Harry.

"Youhhh my lohhhd." mumbled Voldemort.

"Remember that you live only thanks to me and only for as long as you are useful."

"Yehhh."

They walked around for some time. When Voldemort was able to hold a balance, Harry gave him his (Voldemort's) old wand with words, "Here, I managed to get you this. You probably won't be able to use it right away, apart from activating the death mark. Your condition could have been better if you haven't mutilated yourself. And if your body was fresher."

Then Harry told Voldemort about his nearest plans and gave him orders. They parted. Voldemort left through the second exit and Harry returned in the castle.

The Malfoys were sleeping in the quarters where they were 'imprisoned'. Suddenly they woke up, their marks were burning.

"What does it mean?" asked Narcissa. Lucius just stared at the mark. Door to the next room opened and Draco entered, his forearm bared. At that point, Harry, again covered in a shroud, revealed himself.

"Remain calm." he said. The Malfoys turned and saw a wand aimed at them.

"Your lord is calling you." continued Harry. "Let's not keep him waiting. Don't worry, he won't bite you."

In the meantime, Voldemort was in the forest, waiting for his Death Eaters. The first of them started to apparate in, those who were released by Harry and those who weren't present at the battle as well. They stared at their resurrected (well, animated actually) master in disbelief.

"My friends!" greeted them Voldemort. "We definitely need to stop meeting like this. You saw me rise from dead once already, it shouldn't surprise you by now."

He was met by a faint murmur. Everybody saw that he was not alive but it was clear to them that he was no infery either. They never saw anything like that. Voldemort continued to wait.

When Harry and the Malfoys approached, Voldemort spoke again, "And it's all of us I think. Lucius, my slippery friend, are you glad to see me?"  
Narcissa seemed to be quite frightened so Voldemort calmed her, "Don't worry Narcissa, I'm not angry at you. If you told me that Harry is alive then our showdown would merely take place a bit sooner. And it would be a shame if only you saw it, wouldn't it?"

Voldemort then addressed everybody, "As you see, I have been revived. But this time, it wasn't my doing, it was my master's." and gestured towards Harry.

There was a murmur among the Death Eaters, it was quite surprising for them to hear that their master had a master. Voldemort continued, "Through you marks and swears, you were bound to me. And through me, you owe your loyalty to my master as well. Lucius, Narcissa, Draco! Step forward." They did. "Not that we don't trust you but I need you to make an unbreakable promise to ensure your silence. Kingsley might decide to interrogate you."

The Malfoys were bound by a temporal promise and then Harry stepped forward, "I'm afraid there is no time for smalltalk. Kingsley wants to attack the Ministry tomorrow."

Another murmur from the Death Eaters. Harry drew a plan of the Ministry and lay it on a boulder. Then he proceeded to describe the plan in a great detail.

"Of course," he said when he finished. "The plan could change in the last minute. In that case, lord Voldemort will give you a signal through your marks." He rolled the plan and added, "And one more time I remind you: stay away from Potter. Trust me, you wouldn't survive."

When everybody left, Harry and Voldemort returned to the chamber. Harry told him, "Go through the bodies of the fallen Death Eaters and select the best eleven. Drag them aside. The twelve of you will be my elite."

Voldemort began to work on his task. His first selection was Bellatrix.

Harry in the meantime dragged the veela-beast in the center of the pentagram and relit the candles. The corpse was well preserved and because he started to work on it a moment after it died, it was going to be in much better condition then Voldemort. Harry rubbed his hands togather and started. Several hours later he finished the first stage and the beast stirred.

"Lie calmly." addressed it Harry. "We are not finished yet. Rest for now. I shall need something from you.

An hour later, when the lying beast got some motorics in its claws, Harry gave it a quill and parchment. After several attempts the beast managed to write a letter. Harry put it in an envelope and walked to Voldemort. He took a bottle of oil from his pocket and gave it to him.

"Here. Massage the beast with it regularly. It will make it more agile. Especially focus on the wings."

It was late to return to his bed so Harry went out and made it look like he had got up early and had gone jogging.

Bill was at the castle that morning. He received a letter and rejoiced when he opened it. Then he got a startled expression and sought his mother.

"Mum. Fleur wrote."

"Finally! Is she alright?"

"Yeah. It's a bit strange though. She says she went back to France because she was feeling a bit under the weather. She says that she is sorry that she didn't tell me earlier and that you will understand why she isn't feeling well."

Molly stared at him and then burst in jubilation.

"What does it mean?" asked Bill.

"Well, are you sure you want to know? It would be better if you waited for Fleur to tell you that."

"No, I want to know now."

"OK them. Bill, Fleur asked me to brew her a pregnancy test a week ago." Bill just stared at her. Molly added, "I'm going to be a grandmother!"

"I'm going to be a father?"

"Yes, that's true as well."

Everybody started to congratulate Bill but he asked one more question, "But mum, why did she have to scare me to death? I thought something happened to her!"

"Oh, just ask your father what he had to suffer with me."

Harry approached Bill as well and told him, "Bill, we might not like each other but I want to congratulate you. I'm really glad that Fleur is OK, she was always nice to me."

They shook hands and grinned at each other.

After the breakfast was the Great Hall filled by the striking force and there was a briefing.

* * *

Harry and Kingsley were watching the entrance to the Ministry. It was guarded and not lightly. Harry had his wand and there was Griffindor's sword strapped to his belt.

"OK, let's do it." said Kingsley and threw his cloak on. He looked at Harry and asked him, "Where's your cloak?"

"Yeah. It stopped working some time after I snapped that wand and it fell apart."

"What?"

"Come on, let's not discuss it here." whispered Harry. "Don't worry, I know concealment charms."

The two of them and a few more wizards went in. Then several unconcealed attackers approached the building as well.

"Stop right there!" shouted a guard. At that moment, Harry and Kingsley attacked. After a few hectic moments, the toilets were clear.

They rushed (flushed) in the entrance hall and opened fire. When it was under control and everybody was inside (with the exception of those who stayed outside on a lookout), they split in two groups. Kingsley was in one and it was led by himself. Harry was in the other and it was led by an order member, officially. However, Harry was its unofficial foreman.

They got to the level of the law enforcement and parted. Harry's group was cleaving through the offices. During a small skirmish with a group of hostiles they captured one of them alive and conscious. Harry passed him to the legilimens of the group who grabbed his head and looked in his eyes.

"This way." said the legilimens.

In the meantime, Kingsley's group was progressing as well. When they were at an end of a corridor, Kingsley saw a wizard on the other end. He recognized him as a Death Eater. Kingsley shot a spell and ordered his comrades to follow him. The Death Eater started to shout and retreated. Kingsley and his group pursued him. Suddenly, they were attacked from all sides.

Harry's group was met with a resistance and they found themselves in a fierce combat.

"They are at the other side of that corridor!" shouted the legilimens.

"We can't get there." shouted the leader of the group.

"Keep them occupied!" cried Harry and rushed in there.

"Wait!" yelled the leader after him but to no avail. "Damned boy!"

Harry kicked in the room where the ring around Umbridge was kept safe. He quickly scanned them and with joy noticed that while certain politicians that were supposed to be there were missing (as he ordered), Umbridge herself was present. Everybody aimed their wands at him but he just conjured a shield and drew his sword.

The next minute was filled with spells that soared through the room. Some of them were absorbed by Harry's shield, others were dodged. And it was also filled with the sword that carved its way through the bodies of the wizarding politicians. When everybody was dead, Harry left the room.

Kingsley's group fell in a trap. Death Eaters ambushed them. Killing curses soared through the air and Kingsley's men, cramped in a tight space, couldn't evade them. The Death Eaters thought that it would be nice to capture at least some of them but their orders were different. Before too long, the trapped group was slaughtered and Kingsley, the fair man of many virtues, died.

When Harry rejoined his group, its leader was already dead.

"Retreat!" he yelled. They started to do so but they were overwhelmed.

"Target the ceiling!" he ordered his comrades and started to bomb it with explosive curses. Soon it started to collapse.

When it did, they climbed to the higher level.

"Where the hell is Kingsley's group?" shouted Harry.

"No word from them." answered one of his men.

Then they proceeded back to the atrium. Support forces left there were already under attack from outside. Some of the people who were left at the toilets were among them.

"Let's repeat the same trick again!" shouted Harry. "There's a canalisation behind this wall."

They blasted their way through the wall and escaped through canalisation.

* * *

"It was a trap!" exclaimed Harry. "They knew that we were coming."

"Of course they knew it, it was quite an expectable move from our side." opposed McGonagall.

"That wasn't just that. That was... oh, forget about it." gave up Harry.

They were standing around the table for a while and then Harry continued, "OK professor. You are a senior member of the order and I assume that with Kingsley gone, this question goes to you: What are we going to do?"

McGonagall leaned on the table. Then she said, "We need to determine Kingsley's status. They might be holding him. We also need to determine if the ministry is controlled by Death Eaters."

In that moment, the door to the room opened and a wizard brought a package.

"Excuse me." he said with a shaky voice. "This came through post."

They opened the package and froze. Inside was Kingsley's head. After a minute of horrified silence, Harry said, "Well professor, I think that one point of your agenda is done."

That evening, Harry made a quick trip to London to take care of something. Then he went to the Chamber of Secrets.

At first, he finished his work on the undead veela-beast. He watched it with pride for a while.

In the meantime, Voldemort prepared everything for a ritual. He arranged the eleven selected bodies in a circle and waited in the middle for Harry. He came to him and they started. The dead bodies were still linked to Voldemort. They were going to attempt to exploit that link.

After several hours of chanting, Harry left Voldemort with directions concerning the eleven bodies. The veela was happily flapping around by that time. After few hours of rest, Harry again went to London.

* * *

The prime minister arrived at his office. A little while later, his assistant came to him.

"Sir." he addressed him. "Do you know a boy called Harry Potter?"

The prime minister raised his eyebrow in surprise and answered, "Yes."

"I'm supposed to give you this. He should call in a few minutes." said the assistant and took out a cellphone. "I already gave it to your security to check it. There's nothing wrong with it."

The prime minister curiously took it. When it rang, he took the call.

"This is me, Potter." said Harry's voice on the other side. There were sounds of traffic on the background, he was probably calling from a phone booth. "Don't say anything suspicious, they might be watching you."

"This is unexpected. Why are you calling?"

"Sir, we need to talk. Bad things are happening."

"I don't understand, why I wasn't contacted through the usual channel by... by your friend?"

"Sir, Kingsley is dead."

The minister was shocked to hear that.

A half an hour later, a black limo stopped at a side of a street. A men stepped outside and checked the rear wheels. Apparently satisfied, he got back in. Inside, Harry Potter made himself visible.

"Good morning sir. Thank you for hearing me out." he said.

"Mr. Potter, I'm undergoing a huge personal inconvenience and risk to meet with you like this. I hope it's worth of what do you have to say."

"Trust me sir, it is."

Harry then proceeded to tell the minister about everything that happened since the last time they saw each other. He carefully tweaked his words to shift the minister in a certain way but to remain truthful at the same time.

"There's have to be a mole among us, there's no other way how they could know about us." said Harry. "And when the Death Eaters escaped few days ago, that was also an inside job."  
Harry shook his head and looked at his listeners. Then he continued, "But something funny is happening at the ministry as well. Why would they leave their highest leaders to die? Unless..."

"Unless it was some kind of powershift?"

"Yes."

The minister clasped his hands and leaned his chin on them. Then he said, "So, let's say that there are people who want to gain power. They removed Kingsley Shacklebolt and let you to remove Dolores Umbridge and her followers. And now they will attempt to assume leadership."

"Well, that sounds logically when you say it." remarked Harry.

"Who leads your side now, when Shacklebolt is gone?"

"Well, it's bit unclear but professor McGonagall is now the head of the order and she is headmistress of the school. So I think she is."

"I couldn't asses her well when I met her. What can you tell me about her?"

"Well, she's teaching transfiguration. She is quite stern but I think she is nice and soft inside... Hey, you don't think she is that mole?"

"No, that's not what I meant. Is she smart? Is she a good politician? Is she a good strategist?"

"Well, I don't think she is stupid but somehow I can't connect her with those two latter things."

They continued to talk. Then Harry excused himself that his friends were going to miss him. So he and the minister agreed on a more comfortable communication channel through a middleman from his administration.

* * *

Harry and Voldemort again stood in the middle of the Chamber of Secrets. The first stage of their work was coming to end. Finally, the bodies started twitching. Unlike Voldemort, Bellatrix and the other ten were far more wasted. Harry wasn't expecting them to be able to fight anytime soon.

"And the others?" asked Voldemort.

"By the time we get to them, they won't be good for anything else then lesser units. Ghouls, zombies and such."

"Or we could..."

"What?"

"We could take three or four of them and sew them togather and make a big undead unit combined from multiple bodies!"

Voldemort was looking at his master with glee in his eyes. Harry blinked several times and then said, "An undead unit sewed togather from several bodies? What kind of dumb idea is that?"5.1

Voldemort just hung his head guiltily.

* * *

Footnotes ... that?"5.1 Opinions of Harry Potter aren't in accord with opinions of the author of this story in this matter. 


	6. Chapter 6

Machiavelli

"We can't continue. It's taking too long and people have enough!" exclaimed McGonagall.

"They have enough? They have enough?" replied Harry with equal enthusiasm. It was two weeks later and they had yet another meeting at Hogwarts.

Harry continued, "They've spent a year under Voldemort's rule. They've spent years under the corrupted ministries of Fudge's and Scrimgeour's. And now, after few weeks, they suddenly can't bear their freedom?"

McGonagall sighed and then calmly explained, "Since the battle, some important faculties of our world seized to work. Nobody is minding the Floo network, nobody is fixing magical accidents, nobody is minding magical creatures, nobody is guarding our secrecy and so on. When we won the battle, people expected that everything would turn normal again. But it turned worse. The country is in chaos and the economy suffers. And now the man who was supposed to bring order is dead."

"Thank you professor, I already knew all of this. Of course, you have your own way to put it in words. So, what do you suggest?"

"We need to make peace with what's left of the Ministry and restore fundamental mechanisms of our society."

"They are being controlled by Death Eaters!"

"We shall catch them all and then we shall see to it that everyone who did something illegal during the regime will be punished."

Harry glared at her and then turned to the window. After a while of silence, somebody said, "With all due respect ma'am, making a peace with the Ministry might a bit difficult for us. They are being controlled by Death Eaters and Potter killed their leaders."

"Yes, I know that." replied McGonagall. "But we have to try."

"If I might, I would like to propose an idea." said the same person again.

"Please."

"There is somebody who would be able to do it."

They guy went to the door and opened them. And then entered no one else then Lucius Malfoy.

"Good morning." he said.

McGonagall stared at him coldly and then said, "Mr. Malfoy. What an unexpected pleasure. May I ask why are you here and not in your quarters?"

"I've heard about your diplomatic troubles. And I think I might be able to help you."

"What do you mean?"

"I can lend you my diplomatic skills and deal with the Ministry."

A moment later, Harry burst out laughing. Then he sneered, "Who do you think we are? Idiots? Now get out..."

"I think it's still me who presides this meeting Mr. Potter." interrupted him McGonagall. "And it's me who decides who can be here."  
McGonagall then turned to Malfoy and asked. "Why exactly do you think that we should trust you enough to let you handle such a thing?"

"Because of my family." answered Malfoy.

"Explain."

"In return for my services, I want full pardons for my wife and my son. I believe that Mr. Potter told you about some mitigating circumstances concerning them. So it shouldn't be too difficult for you. I do not ask anything for myself."

"Is there something with your ears Malfoy? She did not ask what do you want in return but why should we trust you at all." nipped in Harry.

"Exactly. And my answer answered why am I on your side. You see, my family can't expect any mercy from our former associates since they see us as traitors now. But if you give me what I ask for, you will have my loyalty."

Lucius Malfoy finished and looked at Harry. Right after the battle, he had been in awe as everybody else when he had managed to survive the killing curse. But currently he was getting on his nerves again. He didn't understand why their masters prohibited them to cross Potter's way.

They discussed some details about the deal with the Ministry as well as the deal with Malfoys. Harry was silent for the whole time.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy arrived at the Ministry. The guards swarmed on him. He had to surrender his wand but half an hour later, he was talking to the leaders of the Ministry. Malfoy conveyed McGonagall's willingness for truce. The others expressed their willingness for the same thing but they also said that there was one big 'but'. And a few moments later, that 'but' arrived.

Two Death Eaters barged in the room and one of them said, "What is this? Why weren't we told immediately as he arrived?"

And the other said, "Well what have we here? Lucius, Lucius, Lucius. Always trying to worm your way out of anything, aren't you?"

Lucius Malfoy calmly laid his cup on a table and said, "I assure both you and you," (he looked towards both sides as he spoke), "that what I have to propose will be beneficial for all of us."

And then Malfoy proposed a plan in which the Death Eaters would fall back and the Ministry would severe their connections with them, officially. Then the ministry would accept the truce with Hogwarts. They discussed their plans in details and the ministry officials didn't have a slightest idea that they were being played on.

* * *

"She is what?" exclaimed the prime minister.

"Yes, it's true." replied Harry. "She's probably taking an example from a certain post-communist country where they promised the communist that they wouldn't be prosecuted for their crimes if they went away peacefully. Well and if she doesn't, than she is making the same mistake as they did."  
Harry paused for a moment to let the words sink in and then he continued, "Sir, this might get us to the point zero. Everything will be as it was before - corrupted government, purebloods at the top of our society and half-bloods, muggleborns and magical creatures in repression. No crimes will be punished. Those who suffered from the regime will demand satisfaction and the new regime will just try to silence them. Sir, in such a case, everything will be ready for a new dark lord. One of the Death Eaters for example."

The prime minister stared at a wall. Then Harry proposed, "Sir, you are a politician. Maybe if you talked to professor McGonagall..." Harry's voice trailed off. He knew that a single conversation between the prime minister and McGonagall could cast a shadow of suspicion on him. Unless he wangled it right.

"Is it possible to arrange such a thing?" asked the minister.

"Well, that's the problem. I can't go to her and tell her: 'The prime minister wants to talk to you professor.' That would uncover me."

"Hm... we shall think of something. I can't use that painting in my office since it leads to the Ministry of Magic, right?"

"Yes sir."

Then they stood up and on minister's prompt went to a different part of the base they were in. And there they were - the first antiwizard special forces in the history of modern militarism. They were being prepared for a possibility of war. Harry himself couldn't devote much time to them. However, he managed to recruit two muggleborns who spent the war in Azkaban (without revealing his identity to them of course). He couldn't mark those two wizards as talented but it was the best he had.

* * *

"Professor, you might want to see this." said Harry when he entered the headmaster's office. He threw a muggle newspaper on her desk. Professor McGonagall took it and looked at the page on which Harry opened it for her. There was an article about 'Minerva McGonagall - an elderly woman who went missing'.

McGonagall laid the paper back on her desk and asked, "What does it mean? How did you come across this?"

"Unlike others, I keep an eye on muggle world. This article is in several other papers. I think it's a message."

"That they want to talk with me?"

"Well, it's logical. Nobody told the prime minister what's happening since the last time we saw him."

Professor McGonagall gave the newspaper back to Harry and said, "I shall apprise the minister of what he needs to know in due time."

"Professor, I think you should see him now and tell him everything."

"That's all Mr. Potter."

"Professor..."

"Our law requires us to contact the muggle prime minister only in certain circumstances. None of these circumstances are actual at this time. And now, you may go."

Later that day, Harry took one of his elite undead Death Eaters (Undeath Eaters?) and togather they went to the Privet Drive. Harry had something specific to do there. He had not done it yet for the same reason why Voldemort never returned to his orphanage to take revenge - because it would be childish and unworthy of a dark lord. However, Harry then gained real reasons why to do this.

They barged in. All three Dursleys were at home at the time. Harry's and his companion's work was quick and thorough. Before they apparated away, the Undeath Eater conjured a death mark above the house.

* * *

"I really don't need you to be sorry." said Harry to McGonagall and the others. "After I've lost so many people I cared about, the death of the people who treated me like a shit won't budge me."  
The others just flinched at his indifference and Harry continued, "I think it's their response to our treaty with the Ministry."

"I agree." agreed McGonagall. "It probably means that the Ministry really cut of their ties with them. And that's why I think we should go through with the truce."

Harry said nothing and just silently nodded.

* * *

"My friends!" addressed Harry his audience. There were his eleven elite Undeath Eaters, lesser units, the undead veela-beast and a few of the living Death Eaters. Voldemort himself was aside, standing on a step-ladder and working on a huge tanks of bubbling liquid. Harry continued his speech, "Tonight, you will march out of shadows for the first time. Tonight, your lord Voldemort shall appear and everybody will tremble before him! Tonight, we shall punish the Ministry and the Order for their unwillingness to fight."  
Harry paused for a moment and then continued, "Unfortunately, I can't reveal myself yet. But I assure that it won't be long before you find out who I really am and before I step out of shadows as well."

The undead units just darkly humed, the living Death Eaters just sheepishly looked around themselves. Harry approached them and told them, "You have your orders. Convey them to your friends outside. And don't screw them up!"

When the living Death Eaters left, Harry went to Voldemort and the huge tanks.

"Ingenious." he said.

"Actually it was a little project I gave to Snape a long time ago. I knew it would come handy one day." replied Voldemort.

The liquid in the tanks was basically a nitroglycerin but it was greatly modified. Snape's additions to the formula made the liquid slightly red and it increased it's strength.

At the same time, Arthur Weasley talked to his sons. He was telling them, "I need to be there. However I need all of you to remain here and guard this school with the others. We don't expect anything to happen and we need many people at the meeting but we can't leave the school undefended. Keep your sister and mother safe."

In the meantime, Voldemort with his units left the chamber and Harry returned to the school to meet McGonagall. Only the veela-beast, one elite Undeath Eater and two ghouls remained to guard (and set off) the bomb.

Harry joined McGonagall and the others. With a few portkeys, they transported to the place where the meeting was taking place. It was in a middle of woods. Representatives of both sides were already there. They had prepared a simple podium on which the treaty was supposed to be closed. They had also erected double security wards (each side once). There were also several house elves.

People started to arrive. Harry, McGonagall and the others from Hogwarts and the surviving member of Umbridge's group and other ministry workers for the remnants of the ministry. As they were arriving, a large squad of soldiers stalked through the woods. There was a government representative and his assistant. And there was also one of the two muggleborns recruited by Harry.

"I don't see anything." said the squad leader who was looking through his NV binoculars.

"Give it here." said the wizard and looked by himself.

"There, I see it." he said after a moment. "Don't worry, you'll see it too when we get in the radius."

"It's time." said the Undeath Eater in the Chamber of Secrets. The undead veela-beast nodded and set off. The Undeath Eater pured a vial of blue liquid in each of the tanks. The veela got in the castle and started to seek it's prey.

The Weasley brothers were on one of the courtyards in Hogwarts. They were sitting on the stone benches, staring at stars and chatting. Bill told them about his concerns about Fleur. She had not yet returned and that made him worried even when she had answered every letter he had written to her. Ron then wanted to tell them about his recent big argue with Hermione but suddenly a voice called them, "Hey boys!"

It was Ginny. She came to talk to them. She didn't want to confront them about Harry yet. Her plan was only to prepare a field for it.

Ginny approached them and the boys greeted her. They started to talk but suddenly they heard something. It was like a swish of wings. They were silent for a while and then they decided that they only imagined it. Then they heard a buildup of fire and a moment after that two fireballs were fired on them.

"Cover!" shouted Bill and everybody hit the ground. The fireballs impacted and fire spilled around.

Percy crouched behind a bench with his wand prepared. There was a swish and his chest was impaled by a large beak. Percy was lifted from the ground. Ginny started to yell for help and her brothers lit up their wands. Bill saw the beast, it was clamped on a roof. It dropped Percy and then it looked directly in Bill's eyes.

"Fleur?" whispered horrified Bill. The beast let out a screech.

In the meantime the Undeath Eater in the chamber set off the detonating mechanisms on the tanks. He left the two ghouls on guard and then he started to run away as fast as his rotten legs allowed.

At the same time as this all was happening, the meeting in the woods was progressing. The closing of the treaty was getting near when the alarm wards went of. The guards immediately rushed to the place and everybody draw their wands. What the guards found most surprising was that they were muggles.

The guards aimed their wands at them and one of them shouted, "Don't move!"

The government representative looked at at the shouter and harshly responded, "Put your wand down and step aside wizard, we represent the government."

The guards were about to stun and obliviate them when Harry arrived on the scene and bellowed, "Put your wands down you fools! Do you want to start a conflict?"

The squad continued to trot to the podium for the whole time. Harry was holding of the guards and prevented them from opening fire. And so the squad managed to get to the clearing where the podium was.

"What is this supposed to mean?" asked McGonagall.

The government representative stepped forward and said, "That's what we should ask you, 'professor'. I'm sure that you received prime minister's message to contact him. And yet, you did not. And now, you are closing this suspicious treaty without us!"

The ministry officials stood up but McGonagall was quicker. She knew that the other side might consider it as a sign of weakness so she replied, "How dare you? You minister has no right to demand any explanations from us. Your invasion of this space is outrageous! How you were even able to get here?"

At that point, the muggleborn who was with the squad stepped forward. He wasn't supposed to talk but yet he did. He said, "Do you remember me McGonagall? Do you remember me from your classes? I doubt that. Back there, you were always so stern and so demanding on our performance. All of us respected, feared and admired you. And now you stand here, signing this cowardly treaty! Ten months ago, I was dragged from my home. My muggle family was cursed and obliviated. Then I had to withstand that mockery of a trial and was sent to Azkaban. And for eight months I was laying there in my cell and dementors fed on my mind! Now the war is over and yet, I wasn't summoned to a trial to testify against those who wronged me. And nobody was arrested, nobody was prosecuted and nobody is in jail!"

The government representative stepped to him and silently told him, "What a hell are you doing? Fall back and shut up! I'll handle this!"

But the muggleborn wasn't going to be silenced and continued, "I demand justice. And one of those culprits is right here!" and he pointed by his wand at one of the present ministry workers.

The marked man immediately yelled, "He is a traitor! He is working for muggles! He's not even hiding it! Seize him!"

The yeller then shot a cutting curse on the muggleborn. However, he was a bad dueller so the muggleborn managed to shield the curse off. The attacker was stunned by Harry in the next moment.

The situation started to be chaotic. The soldiers assumed a defensive formation. Harry was trying to dissolve the situation. One of the ministry officials approached McGonagall from behind and silently told her, "And such people you are protecting."

McGonagall didn't know what to do. Dumbledore or Kingsley would simply bellowed on the crowd and everybody would be silent. But McGonagall simply wasn't made for such situations.

Lucius Malfoy (as a man who brought both sides togather to this meeting) was there that night as well as his family. His wife was quite nervous while Draco was outright scared. But Lucius was calm and he discreetly made his way through the crowd. Then he drew his wand.

The soldiers were standing in a defensive formation. Most of the wizards were aiming their wands at them and they were aiming their rifles at them in return. There was a wizard with red hair who kept telling them that he knew how planes were flying and what were rubber ducks for. Suddenly a green bolt soared through the air and hit one of the soldiers. They immediately recognized it. Their armour was made and charmed to withstand at least two stunners but there was no defence for this. The soldier fell to the ground and one of his comrades did the stupidest thing he could - he aimed his rifle in the direction from which the spell arrived and fired from the grenade launcher attachment. But at that time, Lucius was already aside and preparing to leave with his family.

Both sides opened fire. The people from the Ministry were firing stronger and stronger spells at the soldiers and they were returning the fire. The people who were with the order were mostly standing idle, not sure about what they should do. And McGonagall silently sweared, "Stupid prime minister!"

Voldemort watched the entire scene with his omnioculars. Then he put them away and commanded, "They are fighting each other now. Forward!"

His units started to move. The lesser units in front and he and his elites behind them. The living Death Eaters were to the right from the undead and on his wave they started to advance as well.

They reached the clearing and ghouls charged. Zombies slowly followed them. Voldemort and other spellcasters took cover among trees and started to shoot spells. They controlled only one side of the clearing so anybody was free to escape on the other side.

The clearing was in chaos. Nobody knew what was happening and everybody was shooting spells in all directions. Many people died and some started to retreat. And then Voldemort stepped out and his augmented voice boomed through the clearing, "Behold, I'm back!"

McGonagall tried to cover herself from the spells coming from the forest and she stepped back, with her eyes pointed on Voldemort. She tripped over a body and fell back. Harry was behind her. He caught her but he fell backwards under her weight. And then McGonagall felt a stabbing pain in her back. Harry stabbed her with a dagger. As her life was leaving her, Harry smeared her blood over himself. When she died, he activated a portkey and disappeared.

In the meantime, the battle of Weasley brothers with the veela-beast continued. They were unable to hit the beast while it was grinding them with ease. Then the beast heard shouts of the arriving help and it dived in. As the remaining brothers tried to stay away from it's fireballs and beak, it swooped Ginny in it's talons and then used the velocity of the dive to regain altitude again. As the beast was evading curses, it quickly sped away.

The Weasley brothers ran after it but it was in vain. Ginny was shrieking and the beast did its best to put as much distance between them and the castle. And then the detonators submerged in the tanks in the Chamber of Secrets went off. The rock on which the castle stood rocked and there was a roaring underground. Then a large crack appeared. It ran from the lake to the castle. The water in the lake started to drain away and half of the castle started to graciously drift aside. Walls and towers were crashing and people inside were finding their demises in its ruins.

* * *

The prime minister arrived at the base.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded an answer from Harry. Harry was tired, battered and still in bloodied clothes. But he already told the medics that it wasn't his blood.

Harry told him about what happened. He hinted that thanks to the soldiers, it had not turned into a total massacre. But he didn't forget to mention that it could have been better if the people from the Ministry had not turned against the soldiers and if the order cooperated with them.

When Harry told the minister about Voldemort, he stuttered, "Wait a minute. You killed him, didn't you?"

"That's correct. I didn't say he was alive tonight. And nor was most of his units."

Dread filled the eyes of the prime minister.


	7. Chapter 7

Endgame

_AN: A dark lord necromancer with a happy family life - one of my most morbid and original ideas.  
"Honey, I'm home."  
"Hi. How many people have you turned into ghouls today?"  
"Only two hundred, there wasn't enough wood." _

The next morning, Harry Potter arrived at the house of his grandparents. The veela-beast was there, hidden in the woods around and on guard.

Harry walked in. Kreacher, who was apparently afraid of the undead veela and of Harry himself, greeted him in the foyer. Harry let him to lead him to Ginny, who was lying on a sofa, still unconscious.

Harry watched her in her slumber and contemplated what he should do. If the lord of undead completely consumed Harry, he would turn her into an undead. But Harry decided otherwise. He decided to retain at least one oasis of peace. But he had other matters to focus on so this had to wait.

With Kreacher's help, Harry poured a potion in Ginny's throat. Then he left again.

That day he brought terrible news to the prime minister: Voldemort had taken over the Ministry again and again reigned from shadows using puppets. The prime minister had no choice but to enter the war. Several more muggleborns, hunted by the renewed mudblood patrols, joined the military's anti-wizard program. The rest of the wizarding population in Britain was torn between two instincts: their fear from Voldemort and their fear from muggles.

Harry also visited Andromeda's house, killed her and took Teddy. He figured out the he might be useful.

After few weeks, Harry finally done the required research and prepared everything. He brought a pensieve and other needed things to Ginny's bed. He poured a potion in her throat which was supposed to relax her mind. And then he started a long and meticulous work of obliviating Ginny. He couldn't simply erase the last two years from her mind, that would be too crude. He had to be very precise and selective and remove any incriminating memories while preserving as much as possible. Of course, he was unable to change her feelings - so he only had to hope that she still had some for him.

Later that day, Ginny opened her eyes and with blurred vision looked around the unfamiliar room. She closed her eyes again. The last thing she remembered clearly was the summer before her fifth year. Harry had been finally coming around and she had felt contended like never before. And from there on, there were gaps. Her education at Hogwarts, Quidditch with Harry as a captain and so on. Then the gaps grew wider and her memories shorter until they became flashes. She remembered Harry's victory over Voldemort and the joy she felt. The last thing in her memory was a flight throught night and a strange bird that carried her.

"Hey sleepy." she heard a voice.

"Huh?" she moaned.

"Shhh. Take it easy."

She rocognized the voice. "Harry?" she asked.

"It's alright, I'm here."

Ginny was confused. When she got stronger and asked Harry about her memory loss, he told her that everything had gone bad in the past two years and that she had had a nervous breakdown.

"I managed to get a doctor, I mean a healer, here. You were in some kind of coma and he told me that the only way to save you is to remove some of your memories. But then he died too and I had to do it without him. So I kept removing and removing, until you got better."

Ginny stared at him in shock. Then she asked, "What do you mean, 'he died too'? What exactly happened during those two years?"

"Gin, you must not dwell on it. At least not now, because those events caused your coma in the first place." pleaded Harry.

But Ginny continued, "And why am I in your house? Where is my family?"

Harry abruptly stood up. He looked like he was on a verge of crying. He said, "Please Ginny. It's almost unbearable for myself. We should focus on those who have survived. Look at what all those deaths done to Fleur."

Ginny gave him a bewildered look. Harry walked to the door leading to the garden and waved on something up. A little while later, the veela-beast landed on the garden. Ginny started to shriek but Harry quickly stopped her, "Gin, stop it! Act normally around her or you'll make her sad."

Ginny stopped shrieking and asked, "This... this is Fleur?"

"Yeah. She became like this when Bill... when he... you know. Then she became hellbent on protecting you. It might be a part of veela lore, I don't know."

"I remember... she saved me, didn't she?"

Harry then showed her Teddy, who was there with them. In the next days, he started to slowly tell her some things. He made sure to be truthful because a single uncovered lie could ruin everything. On the other hand, he left out things that nobody else then she (and her brothers) knew.

And so, Harry's dreams came true. Unfortunately (not for him though), the master of death could not stop there. It simply wasn't in his nature. The war continued and the whole country was suffering. Harry, Voldemort and the Undeath Eaters kept fueling it. With each fallen enemy, their army grew. And even some living people and creatures joined their cause.

When the prime minister realized a half a year later that something was wrong, it was too late. Harry entered his office and shot him in the head. Then he looked out of the window and said, "This kingdom... I mean these united kingdoms... shall fall. And from it's ashes a new order shall arise and it will shake the very foundations of this world."

And as he said, it happened. His undead army rolled over the land and its defendants, weakened by fighting each other, were unable to stop it.

* * *

"Hermione, conduct a simulation of the first week of the attack plan with the current parameters." said Voldemort. It was a year after they took control over Britain. They (he, Harry, Bellatrix and few others) were sitting in a large control room. The front side of the room was covered by a large screen. There was a map of North America on it.

"Simulation commencing." said a synthesized voice that resembled Hermione's. And there was a good reason for that resemblance. There was a huge server under the building they were in and Hermione's brain was it's key part.

Little dots appeared on the map and started to move. After several minutes, everybody was disappointed.

"OK, back to planning." said Harry.

Everybody started to think and then Voldemort exclaimed, "I've got it! We could develop a virus!"

"What would it do?" asked Bellatrix.

"It would turn everybody who is infected by it to a zombie. And when such a zombie bites somebody, then that person becomes a zombie too!"

Voldemort looked expectantly at Harry. But Harry asked, "Do you have any idea how to develop such a virus?"

"No, actually not." answered Voldemort sadly.

Everybody got lost in contemplation again. Then Bellatrix shouted, "I've got an idea!"

"Yes?" prompted Harry.

"It's not exactly a direct solution to our problem..."

"Oh no. Not any more of those!" wailed Voldemort.

"But wait! It's really good." pressed Bellatrix.

"OK, here with it." said Harry.

"I think we should build a secret base on the north pole. We shall carve it out of a glacier!"

"And what would be such a base good for?"

"Well, we would make a throne there for you. It would be made of ice and you would be able to sit on it and think about the world domination."

"I think that would be too cold." discarded Harry her idea.

They started to ponder again and then Voldemort proposed, "And what about spiders?"

"Spiders?"

"Yes. Giant undead spiders."

"Well, that's quite a good idea." said Harry with a smile.

But Voldemort wasn't finished yet, "And you know what? They would be able to throw nets at muggle helicopters."

"What?"

"Yes. And those spiders with a special upgrade will be able to throw nets even at muggle jet fighters!"

"Oh crap." sighed Harry and rubbed his scar.


End file.
